This book attempts to provide recipes that will cost $3 per meal - not per serving, as some reviewers believe. As such, the meals are pretty simple, though actual price will, of course, vary depending on the reader's location and inflation rates.

Chapter 1 covers shopping and cooking basics, and chapter 2 on condiments, sauces, and stocks. The remaining 6 chapters offer recipes for soups, fish, poultry, meats, vegetarian fare, and baked goods, respectively.

Overall, I thought it was a good, basic book with a nice amount of variety; I was, however, disappointed with the vegetarian section - there are 18 recipes total and several of these had no protein other than a handful of cheese.

There's nothing here that you can't find on the internet, but for those who don't have reliable internet access or who simply prefer physical books, I think this is worth a flip-through. ( )

This is a good book for the novice cook trying to find their way. The author provides the recipes for a number of comfort foods as well as sauces and stocks that can be staples in any kitchen. ( )